Sometimes
I hammer out these little screeds just to create
a sort of online diary about my tedious little
life, so that years from now I can look back
and wonder why I, for instance, ever
appreciated Van Camps Pork N' Beans well enough
to write
a
bawdy limerick about them.

As such, this weekend Beloved Girlfriend and
I took in an IMAX-powered showing of Legends
of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole.
I knew nothing about the many books this movie
is based on, all I know is that the film springs
from
the same talented people who created Happy
Feet, one of
the relative handful of DVD's I keep in The
Collection.

So what did I get for my $14 American?

Pros: Simply the most gorgeous computer-animated
film yet. Beloved Girlfriend and I were stunned
by the level of detail, bordering on the magical.
The animators must be some kinds of OCD prodigies
as there were too many "hero" feathers
to count. We spent a lot of time nudging each
other, pointing
out some detail that must have been pure Hell
to animate.

Cons: Conventional plot. These were just people
in owl costumes, the author having woven multiple
layers of human technology (music, art,
metallurgy.. yes, metallurgy!) into the life of normal owls. There's
conflict to be sure but they reach resolution through the time-worn technique
of pitched battle. Seriously. Picture owls with swords.

I'm not sure who this film is aimed at. The animation's far too sophisticated
for just a kids film, the plot too simplistic for adults, and there's no romance
to sweeten the pot. Granted, a love story doesn't have to be crammed into every
movie but it's almost entirely what separates this film from Happy Feet.

Big Picture: The positives far outweigh the negatives, so if you enjoy
deftly-handled
animation, go see this one while it's still in theatres.

Okay, let's see what we've got... George Bush failed to protect the country on
9-11, started an illegal war, ordered the torture of combatants, undermined the
education system, and left the economy in tattered ruins. Which meeeeans... the
revised history books should say it's all Barack Obama's fault.